For the Bears fans out there...

by shawndgoldman on Feb 2, 2007 12:24 PM CST Comment 33 comments

I've been gone for a while because i'm trying to finish up my PhD dissertation and have been tied up with the Bears. Today, i posted a diary on Windy City Gridiron bringing together statistical analysis from various places on the web. In this case, the statisticians agree with the conventional wisdom that defense wins championships. I hope you'll all enjoy it.

For those nervous about the game, don't be. The Bears will win.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, editor-in-chief (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Good to see you shawn

haven't seen you in awhile, and it's good to hear you finished your dissertation, congratulations man, good job and thanks for the link.

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 12:26 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

not so fast...

just because i've been working on finishing my dissertation doesn't mean i've actually finished it =(

I took the morning off to write the article, but am about to dive back into work now...

The Cubs better shine 'fore twenty-oh-nine!

by shawndgoldman on Feb 2, 2007 12:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

lol

I misread, my mistake, keep goin man, good luck to you. keep us posted.

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 12:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

shawn

glad you're back, but

take back that guarantee, right now, seriously, now, then go outside spin around 3 times and spit

keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 2, 2007 12:40 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Colts fan?!

No, no, can't be.

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 12:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Bear all the way

I'm just very superstitious, see the diary about superstitions, its an old theater thing

keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 2, 2007 12:52 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

oh

I've hardly paid any attention to that diary, too superstitious.

Wait, what?

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 1:04 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

what what

keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 2, 2007 1:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Where am I?

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 1:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

whats

with today, today?

keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 2, 2007 1:25 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don't know

it sems confusingly confusing.

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 1:26 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

makes

sense to me

keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 2, 2007 1:32 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Dogs have wet noses

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 1:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

the

fat man walks alone

keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 2, 2007 1:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

the crow

is in the nest.

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 1:40 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Always

play with their minds

keeping mediocrity at bay

by flyball on Feb 2, 2007 1:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

k, now i'm confused

on that note, time for work!

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 2, 2007 1:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I saw the diary over there

It's rather lengthy but if I can get through the Greg Maddux autobigography that was posted yesterday I'm sure I can get through that too.

AC 00 00 00 - BELIEVE

by mike on Feb 2, 2007 1:11 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Superb analysis, Shawn

I couldn't agree more.

by Neifi Puppy on Feb 2, 2007 2:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Colts will win

There is not a doubt in my mind. The Colts will take away the run and make Rex pass the ball. The Colts dont turn the ball over and the bears defense isnt that scary when they are not creating turnovers. The only thing that worries me is Hester returning kicks. If the Colts do a good job containing him, they win in a land slide

2007 is the year, I can feel it in my bones.

by indytaz on Feb 2, 2007 3:20 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Keep dreamin

COTTS!!!

by sue369 on Feb 2, 2007 3:57 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Hey IndyTaz

You are aware it's going to rain in South Florida Sunday, right? That plays into the hands of the Bears running game and not into the precision passing game of Manning.....so, sorry, dude. Lots of receivers will be slipping and sliding. The run will be king, and the Bears D will stuff the Colts running game, and it WILL be all on Manning's shoulders.

Couldn't the mayor of Indy come up with better gifts? Outside of tickets to open-wheel racing, which has seen better days (Is the Indy 500 still relevant?) What's the food? Outback? Applebees's? Denny's? I'm sorry, I can't come up with traditional Indiana -- cuisine.

by Smooth Jazz Man San Diego on Feb 2, 2007 4:17 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Weather.

Miami-area forecast:

Sunday: A 50 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. North wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. Northeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

"[BCB] is much better than... well, everything." -- gravedigger, January 21, 2007

by Al on Feb 2, 2007 4:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

good thing I packed the panchos...

since they don't allow umbrellas at the game.

by bison on Feb 2, 2007 11:27 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

This diary is spot on

I don't know when it was that Indy became unbeatable. Yeah, their defense is improved but KC and Balt. couldn't run because they were one dimensional. I don't think Rex is going to be like a deer in headlights so they will have to account for him. Especially on the long ball.

The way way people are disregarding the Bears reminds me of when people were disregarding the Pats when they played the Rams.

by On tha come up on Feb 2, 2007 4:38 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I'm predicting...

a 2001 Super Bowl-like finish. Rex will become a superstar (but will never be as consistent or good as Brady) from this one game.

Now, I know you weren't saying that, as I'm probably the only one who is.... but, well then.

EINSTEIN!

by tyger1147 on Feb 2, 2007 6:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I somewhat..

..agree with you. It seems like everybody forgets that this is basically his 1st year in the league. Name me another rookie QB who tied with the most 100 pt. QB ratings in a season.

He has had some TERRIBLE games but nothing I think that can't be fixed with experience and work on mechanics.

by On tha come up on Feb 2, 2007 6:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, when you think about it...

Grossman's biggest problem is his pocket presence (or lack thereof). I said once he has less pocket presence than a Razr, and that's what leads to the interceptions. He tends to backpedal when pressured up the middle, instead of sidestepping into the pocket and then stepping up to throw the ball (out of bounds if necessary). The reason why i think this is OK is that when a QB who has been "in the league" for 4 years, but has spent most of his time on the bench, you'd hope he watched enough film to avoid repeated errors when reading a defense. I truly believe this isn't his biggest problem, although it has been a problem from time to time. His problem has to do with the amount of on-field time he has gotten. Once he gets more reps in games and in practice, he should develop better pocket presence and will improve greatly.

BEARS!

The Cubs better shine 'fore twenty-oh-nine!

by shawndgoldman on Feb 2, 2007 11:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

from your lips

to god's ears...BEARS!

TRAMMELL!

by Faith plus 1 on Feb 3, 2007 4:59 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

My dream Super Bowl

You just have to look at the the whole season here. I grew up in Northern Indiana, during the fall and winter it was Notre Dame and Bears football. I have lived in Indy now for 16 years and over those years I have slowly turned into a Colts fan. I am rooting for the Colts, I think they will win, but I do still follow the Bears and if they win, I wont be mad. But looking at the matchups and looking at who the Bears have beaten and who the Colts have beaten, Colts win 24 to 10

2007 is the year, I can feel it in my bones.

by indytaz on Feb 3, 2007 8:57 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

what are you doing that disertation on?

My dad showed me his once. It was like 300 pages of chem engineering jibber-jabber.

Baby, you got a stew goin'

by Thelonious on Feb 3, 2007 3:53 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

If you really want to know...

i'm looking at how you can use chemistry to look for evidence of life on other planets and track the history of life's impact on the early Earth's atmosphere and climate.

More specifically, i'm modeling how the isotopic chemistry of of iron and sulfur would have been different when the Earth was young, at a time when oxygen-producing organisms (such as plants and certain bacteria) were yet to evolve, and oxygen concentrations were much lower. By studying this, we'll have a better idea of the relationship between life and the Earth's atmosphere (and, therefore its climate)... and we'll also will have a better idea how to detect planets similar to the early Earth - those that have life but no oxygen (currently we only know how to detect life on extrasolar planets that have oxygen).

The Cubs better shine 'fore twenty-oh-nine!

by shawndgoldman on Feb 4, 2007 10:16 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs